Saturday, February 21, 2009

First Week Here

So...i have been here for about a week now. In this week, I have had very good times and very bad times. During it all, I have kept a journal of all my day to day activities. I was just going to write here and tell you about the good stuff and make it seem like everything was just dandy for me. But thats not what i went through so I will be sharing parts of my journal here as well.

February ?, 2009So I'm not exactly sure what day it is. When I left home, it was Sunday afternoon and when I arrive in Vienna it will almost be Tuesday. Right now, I'm somewhere in between jetting through time. Time is a reality that my body now knows no concept of. I feel like the sun should be shining yet its pitch black in the cabin with all the window to the plane closed. I feel like I should be sleeping but cant. In about 4 hours, we will land in London where the time will be about 11:30 AM.I just dont know where the time is going. As far as the flight is concerned, the IND to CHI flight was terrible. It was crowded with little personal space. The absolute worst part was the pain shooting through my ears. the cabin pressure was so bad it took almost an hour after we landed for my ears to finally pop! I was extremely worried that this overnight flight to London would be the same way. Thank goodness its not and my ears are doing just fine :D

I cant believe that i am almost in vienna. Its a surreal feeling. I cant wait to see the mountains out of the window!

But i know its going to be hard. Leaving my family was the hardest part. I was showered in hugs and kisses by Vannah and Sierra. Dad looked like those dads you see at weddings right after he gives his daughter away -proud but heart broken. now mom and grandma were a little harder. Grams didnt me to see her so upset and Mom...well I think I started crying when I said good-bye to her. It was the first of many times i would break down to tears.I just miss home already.

February 19, 2009So far i have survived in a foreign country for 4 days. From the begining, it was really hard for me. The first night at the hotel, all the excitment wore off and the fear settled in. As I took a shower that night, all i could think about was coming home. I tried coming up with any excuse I could to get my butt on the next flight home. After I calmed down, I found out that my hotel room didnt have internet - this set off another round of panic. Long story short-my first night in Austria was terrible.I woke up the next morning only to find that it is pouring outside and I have to walk over a mile to get my keys and sign my contract. Today is not looking any better than yesterday...On the way back to my hotel, I bought a cell phone and immediatly called Christine. Thank God for her because otherwise I would be writing this blog in Indy.After I moved into my flat, another panic attack set in. This is for real now! As soon as my bags are unpacked, I cant go home. My internet didnt work at first so once again, i cried my self into a unrestful sleep.When I woke up, the internet was working - what a relief. I was able to talk with my mom through email for a few minutes and she convinced me to go find the grocery store and get some food and try to become familar with my block.On my out of the building, I asked this kid where the grocery store was located. His name is Yahya. He is from some island out by Saudi Arabia. Yahya ended up walking me to the grocery store and back then took me out to dinner to this little Pakastanie (sp) restauraunt. It was really neat because you dont pay for food there. You only pay for the drinks! It was really different!The next day, Wednesday, was probably the worst day I will have here. I basically hit rock bottom. Christine and I went to school to register and get our student ID cards and meet Max, the international coordinator. While we were there, we found out that school didnt start for at least another 2 weeks! What are we suposed to do for 2 weeks? We got back early around 3:30 and the tears started. they didnt stop until around 2AM when I finally fell asleep. During that time, I was email Mom and Dad and calling them on Skype. There was nothing they could say to me that would comfort me. Everything so hopeless. I was lonely. I wanted to come home.